Blind Spots

Truck Accident Lawyers Assisting Victims Near Queens

Crashes involving large tractor-trailers can be caused by a variety of factors, such as icy roads, driver fatigue, speeding, faulty brakes, or overloading. Another issue that often contributes to many collisions is lack of visibility due to a vehicle’s blind spots. If you have been involved in a crash near Queens, contact the experienced truck accident attorneys at The Cassisi Law Firm to find out if you may have a claim. Our legal professionals have helped numerous victims throughout the Bronx and Brooklyn, as well as in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, seek compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.

Risks Posed by Blind Spots

Driving around big rigs is always daunting. Consequently, many people try to maneuver their vehicles away from them as quickly as possible. However, efforts to get around large trucks can sometimes increase the likelihood that an accident will occur if a driver does not understand the scope of the vehicle’s large blind spots.

The size and arrangement of cabs and their trailers mean that blind spots include not only the back of the big rig, but both sides of the vehicle extending out in broad angles from the rear-view mirrors. The area directly in front of the truck is blocked by its hood, and the area ahead of and adjacent to the cab in the right-hand lane is also blocked from the trucker’s vision. The blind spot on the right of the vehicle is broader than on the left, extending up to three lanes wide.

Seek Compensation by Filing a Negligence Claim

Many accidents happen because of the careless actions of a truck driver, the trucking company, or a combination. A crash victim often will consider seeking compensation by filing a negligence claim. This type of case requires four elements, which the injured person must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning that they are more likely than not to be true. At the outset, he or she would need to show the defendant’s duty of care. This requires the trucker to drive as carefully as a reasonable person would operate the vehicle in similar circumstances, and it is generally straightforward to establish. In the next step, the victim must show that the driver breached this obligation with a negligent action, such as failing to check blind spots. There also are many federal and state regulations governing this industry, and violating any of them likely would be deemed a breach of the duty of care.

Once those two elements are shown, the victim needs to tie the conduct that constituted the breach to the harm that he or she suffered. This step is called causation, and it usually requires showing that the accident would not have happened if the truck driver had met the reasonable-person standard rather than violating the duty of care. The crash also must be a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the breach for a negligence claim to succeed. Finally, the victim will need to identify damages that are reasonably quantifiable and that can be directly traced to the accident. These may extend to non-economic harm like pain and suffering as well as economic costs like medical bills and lost wages.

There is a strict time limit on filing a negligence lawsuit or other personal injury claim, so you should not delay in seeking the assistance of an attorney. If you fail to take legal action within this time window, you may be barred from recovering any compensation. Even if you were partly responsible for the crash, you may be able to seek a reduced amount of damages proportionate to the defendant’s fault.

Contact a Queens Attorney Skilled in Tractor-Trailer Crash Claims

If you have been hurt in a truck accident, you should find out if you may have a valid case for negligence. Contact the tractor-trailer crash lawyers at The Cassisi Law Firm to discuss your situation. We have protected the rights of individuals in Queens and the surrounding areas, and you can rely on us to explore all of your options and thoroughly investigate the source of your harm. Contact us at (718) 441-5050, or use our online form to arrange your free consultation.